Dacic calls upon all actors to refrain from violence

VIENNA - Ivica Dacic, the Serbian foreign minister and the current chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), has called on all actors of the continuing heavy fighting around Debaltsevo and the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in the area to refrain from violence and to immediately stop all military activities.

On humanitarian grounds, the OSCE chairman calls on all actors in and around the Debaltsevo area to establish a local temporary truce for a minimum of three days, which should take immediate effect and be facilitated and supported by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, the OSCE said in a release on Tuesday.

This would allow for an urgent evacuation of civilian population from the conflict zone, Dacic said.

He asked Heidi Tagliavini, special representative to the Trilateral Contact Group, to pursue this proposal within the Group, the release said.

The truce should also be used for immediate resumption of consultations aimed at ensuring a sustainable cease-fire and full implementation of the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum, Dacic stressed.

The two documents remain the basis for a peaceful settlement of the crisis, he said.

The OSCE chairperson-in-office pointed out that the Trilateral Contact Group had stated its readiness to engage in such consultations without delays.

Photo Tanjug/D. Peternek (archive)